Alabama Football: Winning Fourth CFB Title Should Propel Nick Saban Back to NFL

NFL running back Trent Richardson thinks Nick Saban will stay in college football as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Richardson said he would be “very shocked” if Saban made the jump back to the pros, according to an AP report (via NFL.com).

He also asked a pertinent question, according to the report: “How can you get tired of winning?”

Richardson could be right, but Saban has a very tumultuous history in the NFL that he could rectify by being handed a job with favorable conditions.

He also was expressing an opinion, not inside information conveyed to him by Saban.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Cleveland is full of young talent like Saban's former star running back, Trent Richardson.

Taking the reins in Cleveland, for example, after a rebuilding process has already been put in motion could help lure him to the NFL level once more.

There are several jobs throughout the league that Saban could make his mark on if given the chance. Jobs that could re-instill his credibility throughout the higher echelons of the sport.

If Alabama wins the national championship, Saban will have won four college titles. That is a huge accomplishment, considering three of them will have come within his last four seasons as the head coach at Alabama.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Saban returned to CFB a conqueror after a failed stint with the Miami Dolphins.

He took a very poor Crimson Tide program and turned it around, nearly overnight.

He’s also already accomplished everything there is to accomplish at the college level. That is unless he’s setting his sights on Paul Bryant’s record of six national titles while at Alabama.

Mr. Saban would have some more work to do if that were the case.

If the right opportunity presents itself, he has little choice but to accept it and attempt to avenge his previous failures at the professional level.

His stock as a coach is as high as it has been right now after leading his third championship run in four years. The NFL is taking notice. Rumors about his interest in the NFL aren't coming from nowhere.

Besides, he would need a bit of luck to fall in his favor if he hoped to outlast and out-coach the great Bear.

Saban is a lot of things, but he has an insurmountable cliff to climb if he thinks he can dispose Bryant atop the throne of Alabama college football lore.